Governor Ronald Reagan named him chairman of the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy in and appointed him State director of finance early in He is credited for having revitalized the FTC by enforcing consumer protection.

He subsequently served under President Richard Nixon as deputy director — and director — of the Office of Management and Budget and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare — While serving in the Office of Management and Budget, Weinberger earned the nickname "Cap the Knife" for his cost-cutting ability.

For the next five years, Weinberger was vice president and general counsel of the Bechtel Corporation in California. Weinberger was vying for Reagan to appoint him as Secretary of State but was given the position of Secretary of Defense instead.

Weinberger took the lead in implementing a rollback strategy against Soviet communism. In , journalist Nicholas Lemann interviewed Weinberger and summarized the strategy of the Reagan administration to roll back the Soviet Union:.

Lemann notes that when he wrote that in , he thought the Reaganites were living in a fantasy world. But in , he says, that passage represents "a fairly uncontroversial description of what Reagan actually did.

Although not widely experienced in defense matters, Weinberger had a reputation in Washington as an able administrator; his powers as a cost cutter earned him the sobriquet "Cap the Knife.

Readiness, sustainability, and modernization became the watchwords of the defense program. In his early years at the Pentagon, Cap Weinberger was known as "Cap the Ladle" for advocating large increases in defense spending.

Major defense programs he championed included the B-1B bomber and the " ship Navy ". His efforts created economic and military-industrial pressures that were associated with the beginning of Perestroika and the beginning of the end of both the Cold War and the Soviet Union.

The Soviet war in Afghanistan and the Soviet response to Mr. The massive US defense effort throughout the period from to contributed only marginally to Soviet economic decline.

The same study points out the key reason for the economic decline of the USSR was relying on centrally-planned industrial-expansion to drive economic growth , rather than driving growth by increasing worker productivity via incentives ; France and Japan were also mentioned in as other centrally-planned economies that could soon experience similar troubles.

Reagan was one of the few people to predict this possibility. The final piece of the puzzle was the Soviet leadership: Brezhnev , Andropov , and Chernenko were hardline Communists, and prevented any significant changes, but Gorbachev was a reformer—and once economic reforms and political reforms began, they became unstoppable.

British journalist Berrnard Levin wrote in I do not believe it possible that the thirst for freedom and decency in the countries of the Soviet Empire can remain much longer unslaked, and that any attempt Memories of the Czech tragedy of will still be fresh These events came at the cost of helping to triple the US national debt , and funding radicals.

Weinberger was reluctant to commit the armed forces, keeping only a token force of American marines in Lebanon that then became victims in the Beirut barracks bombing.

That act of course does not mean—any more than does the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan—that the USSR has given up its long-term aggressive designs.

The funds received from Iran were then channeled to guerilla rebels known as Contras , who were fighting the socialist government of Nicaragua.

Though he claimed to have been opposed to the sale on principle, actually Weinberger participated in the transfer of United States Hawk and TOW missiles to Iran at that time.

This resulted in a large scandal with several investigations which resulted in fourteen Reagan administration officials being indicted, including Caspar Weinberger who resigned before trial.

Following his resignation as Secretary of Defense, legal proceedings against him were continued by Independent Counsel Lawrence E.

A federal grand jury then indicted Weinberger on two counts of perjury and one count of Obstruction of Justice on June 16, Prosecutors brought an additional indictment just four days before the presidential election.

This was controversial because it cited a Weinberger diary entry contradicting a claim made by President George H. On December 11, , Judge Thomas F.

Hogan threw out this indictment because it violated the five-year statute of limitations and improperly broadened the original charges.

Weinberger had been Secretary of Defense for six years and ten months, longer than anyone except for Robert McNamara and more recently Donald Rumsfeld.

After Weinberger left the Pentagon, he joined Forbes, Inc. He was named chairman in Over the next decade, he wrote frequently on defense and national security issues.

In , he wrote Fighting for Peace , an account of his Pentagon years. In , Weinberger co-authored a book entitled The Next War , which raised questions about the adequacy of US military capabilities following the end of the Cold War.

He was survived by his wife, their two children, and several grandchildren. Shortly after his death President George W. Bush in a public statement said:.

Caspar Weinberger was an American statesman and a dedicated public servant. He wore the uniform in World War II, held elected office, and served in the cabinets of three Presidents.

In all his years, this good man made many contributions to our Nation. Laura and I send our condolences and prayers to the entire Weinberger family.

Cap Weinberger was a friend. His extensive career in public service, his support for the men and women in uniform and his central role in helping to win the Cold War leave a lasting legacy He left the United States armed forces stronger, our country safer and the world more free.

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